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The Silent Language
Antropologo americano. Nasce nel 1914 a Webster Groves (Missouri), studia nelle Università di Denver e dell’Arizona (master), conseguendo poi il dottorato alla Columbia University di New York (1942). Dal 1942 al 1946 è arruolato nell’esercito, prima sul fronte europeo poi nel Pacifico. Al ritorno si stabilisce a Santa Fe, Nuovo Messico. Impegnato a osservare sul campo gli indiani Navajo, Hopi e Trukesi, gli ispano-americani di Nuovo Messico e America latina, gli arabi del Mediterraneo e gli iraniani, il suo approccio professionale non è in linea con le tradizioni dell’antropologia classica. Egli non approfondisce alcuna cultura in particolare e, utilizzando estensivamente la linguistica, acquista notorietà soprattutto per le sue ricerche e le sue pubblicazioni concernenti la ‘comunicazione interculturale’ e la ‘prossemica’ che preferisce rivolgere non tanto agli addetti ai lavori quanto al più vasto pubblico. Responsabile dei programmi di formazione nel Foreign Service Institute agli inizi degli anni Cinquanta, introduce i diplomatici alle culture straniere con una metodologia che media tra esempi concreti e generalizzazioni strutturali. Ne emerge un’antropologia insieme viva e classica che ritroviamo, poi, in tutte le sue opere.
Delle opere di H. si ricordano in particolare: Il linguaggio silenzioso, Bompiani, Milano 1969 (ed. orig. 1959); La dimensione nascosta, Bompiani, Milano 1968 (ed. orig. 1966); Handbook for proxemic research, Society for the Anthropology of Visual Communication, Washington (DC) 1974; Beyond culture, Anchor Press/Doubleday, Garden City (NY) 1976; The dance of life: the other dimension of time, Anchor Press/Doubleday, Garden City (NY) 1983; Hidden differences: doing business with the Japanese, Anchor Press/Doubleday, Garden City (NY) 1987; Understanding cultural differences, Intercultural Press, Yarmouth (ME) 1990; An anthropology of everyday life. An autobiography, Anchor Books, New York 1993.
Delle opere di H. si ricordano in particolare: Il linguaggio silenzioso, Bompiani, Milano 1969 (ed. orig. 1959); La dimensione nascosta, Bompiani, Milano 1968 (ed. orig. 1966); Handbook for proxemic research, Society for the Anthropology of Visual Communication, Washington (DC) 1974; Beyond culture, Anchor Press/Doubleday, Garden City (NY) 1976; The dance of life: the other dimension of time, Anchor Press/Doubleday, Garden City (NY) 1983; Hidden differences: doing business with the Japanese, Anchor Press/Doubleday, Garden City (NY) 1987; Understanding cultural differences, Intercultural Press, Yarmouth (ME) 1990; An anthropology of everyday life. An autobiography, Anchor Books, New York 1993.
217 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
87 people are currently reading
1921 people want to read
About the author
Edward T. Hall
32 books173 followersBorn in Webster Groves, Missouri, Hall taught at the University of Denver, Colorado, Bennington College in Vermont, Harvard Business School, Illinois Institute of Technology, Northwestern University in Illinois and others. The foundation for his lifelong research on cultural perceptions of space was laid during World War II when he served in the U.S. Army in Europe and the Philippines.
From 1933 through 1937, Hall lived and worked with the Navajo and the Hopi on native American reservations in northwestern Arizona, the subject of his autobiographical West of the Thirties. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1942 and continued with field work and direct experience throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. During the 1950s he worked for the United States State Department, at the Foreign Service Institute (FSI), teaching inter-cultural communications skills to foreign service personnel, developed the concept of "High context culture" and "low context culture", and wrote several popular practical books on dealing with cross-cultural issues. He is considered a founding father of intercultural communication as an academic area of study.
Hall first created the concepts of proxemics, polychronic and monochronic time, high and low context culture. In his book, The Hidden Dimension, he describes the culturally specific temporal and spatial dimensions that surround each of us, such as the physical distances people keep each other in different contexts.
In The Silent Language (1959), Hall coined the term polychronic to describe the ability to attend to multiple events simultaneously, as opposed to "monochronic" individuals and cultures who tend to handle events sequentially.
In 1976, he released his third book, Beyond Culture, which is notable for having developed the idea of extension transference; that is, that humanity's rate of evolution has and does increase as a consequence of its creations, that we evolve as much through our "extensions" as through our biology. However, with extensions such as the wheel, cultural values, and warfare being technology based, they are capable of much faster adaptation than genetics.
Robert Shuter, a well-known intercultural and cross-cultural communication researcher, commented: "Edward Hall's research reflects the regimen and passion of an anthropologist: a deep regard for culture explored principally by descriptive, qualitative methods.... The challenge for intercultural communication... is to develop a research direction and teaching agenda that returns culture to preeminence and reflects the roots of the field as represented in Edward Hall's early research."
He died at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico on July 20, 2009.
From 1933 through 1937, Hall lived and worked with the Navajo and the Hopi on native American reservations in northwestern Arizona, the subject of his autobiographical West of the Thirties. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1942 and continued with field work and direct experience throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. During the 1950s he worked for the United States State Department, at the Foreign Service Institute (FSI), teaching inter-cultural communications skills to foreign service personnel, developed the concept of "High context culture" and "low context culture", and wrote several popular practical books on dealing with cross-cultural issues. He is considered a founding father of intercultural communication as an academic area of study.
Hall first created the concepts of proxemics, polychronic and monochronic time, high and low context culture. In his book, The Hidden Dimension, he describes the culturally specific temporal and spatial dimensions that surround each of us, such as the physical distances people keep each other in different contexts.
In The Silent Language (1959), Hall coined the term polychronic to describe the ability to attend to multiple events simultaneously, as opposed to "monochronic" individuals and cultures who tend to handle events sequentially.
In 1976, he released his third book, Beyond Culture, which is notable for having developed the idea of extension transference; that is, that humanity's rate of evolution has and does increase as a consequence of its creations, that we evolve as much through our "extensions" as through our biology. However, with extensions such as the wheel, cultural values, and warfare being technology based, they are capable of much faster adaptation than genetics.
Robert Shuter, a well-known intercultural and cross-cultural communication researcher, commented: "Edward Hall's research reflects the regimen and passion of an anthropologist: a deep regard for culture explored principally by descriptive, qualitative methods.... The challenge for intercultural communication... is to develop a research direction and teaching agenda that returns culture to preeminence and reflects the roots of the field as represented in Edward Hall's early research."
He died at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico on July 20, 2009.
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October 7, 2012
Though this book played an important role in identifying supra-linguistic aspects of communication, Halls methodology was developed within a context of American domination. Most of his evidence is anecdotal, and most of the anecdotes occur in situations where Americans are in power and "confused" by their inability to communicate with or control the behavior of people in other countries. His examples include diplomat to foreign citizen, teacher to foreign student, military to foreign government, etc. He rarely gives any examples where power dynamics are reversed, more equal, or simply complex. This renders many of his observations and methods unuseful in a transnational world where America is no longer the dominant super power and intercultural contexts are highly varied. We can no longer hold on to the notion that culture is static and tied to the Nation -- a notion that may have been arguably useful in the 20th Century, but not any more.
September 30, 2016
إدوارد هول هو عالم الإنسان أو الأنثروبولوجيا الأميركي الشهير ولد في مايو 1914 وتوفي في يوليو 2009.هو من العلماء الذين كان لهم صيت بارز في مجاله.هو أول من اخترع وطور مصطلح او مبدأ أو مبحث التداني الا وهو تأثير المكان او الفضاء الحولنا في ثقافة الشعوب.كان أستاذا في جامعات راقية وعلى رأسها هارفارد
اخترع وتميز في النظريات التالية:
Proxemics
High and Low context culture
Polychromic and Monochromic time
:من كتبه الشهيرة وذات التأثير الكبير
1-The Silent Language
2-The Hidden Dimension
3-Beyond Culture
4-The Dance of life:the other dimension of time
5-An Anthropology of everyday life
اللغة الصامتة هو بحث عن تأثير الزمان والمكان في صياغة ثقافات الشعوب..يعتبر كمرشد متخصص يريك مكونات الحياة على حقيقتها.يرسم لنا البديهيات التي كلنا نعرفها فنراها بشكل ووجه مختلف.هنا تعريف الثقافة بأسهل وأفضل اسلوب.هذا الكتاب مرجع مهم لترتيب الأفكار وتعريف المصطلحات بل واختراعها
اللغة الصامتة هنا هي الثقافة..تلك الممارسات التي نقوم بها جميعا دون أن نحددها بإسم او تعريف أو مصطلح وهنا ستعرف ان الثقافة ذات أساس بيولوجي كما يقول:"كل السلوك الثقافي قائم على أساس بيولوجي
:ثم يتطرق الى أنظمة التراسل الأولية العشرة التي هي البنية التحتية للثقافة
التفاعل
الاتحاد
موارد الاعاشة
ثنائية الجنس
الإقليمية
الزمنية
التعلم
اللعب
الدفاع
الإنتفاع
ويعرف كل واحد منها على حدة مع الأمثلة الرائعة من مختلف البلدان والشعوب واللغات
ومن الموضوعات المهمة في هذا الكتاب هي اختراعه للنظرية الثلاثية التي طورها مع صديقه تراجر،والتي تقول أنه هناك فعليا ثلاثة أنواع للوقت بدلا من نوعين
وقت رسمي
وقت غير رسمي
وقت تقني
وكذلك طورا فكرة ان للناس ثلاثة أنماط سلوكية كما هي للوقت وكذلك أعطى تعريفات وأمثلة وتفصيلات جميلة عن التعلم،الإدراك والوجدان بتعريفاتهم الثلاثة.ولن أتطرق لتعريفها فهذه مهمتك القادمة اذا نويت قراءة الكتاب
الكتاب من 11 فصلا
١-أصوات الزمن
٢-ماهي الثقافة
٣-مفردات الثقافة
٤-الثلاثي الرئيس
٥-الثقافة هي تواصل
٦-المجموعة المنتشرة
٧-الوحدة الصغرى المضللة
٨-النمط المنظم
٩-الزمن يتكلم:اللهجات الأميركية
١٠-المكان يتكلم
١١-التحرر من السيطرة
قراءة ممتعة للجميع..تحياتي
اخترع وتميز في النظريات التالية:
Proxemics
High and Low context culture
Polychromic and Monochromic time
:من كتبه الشهيرة وذات التأثير الكبير
1-The Silent Language
2-The Hidden Dimension
3-Beyond Culture
4-The Dance of life:the other dimension of time
5-An Anthropology of everyday life
اللغة الصامتة هو بحث عن تأثير الزمان والمكان في صياغة ثقافات الشعوب..يعتبر كمرشد متخصص يريك مكونات الحياة على حقيقتها.يرسم لنا البديهيات التي كلنا نعرفها فنراها بشكل ووجه مختلف.هنا تعريف الثقافة بأسهل وأفضل اسلوب.هذا الكتاب مرجع مهم لترتيب الأفكار وتعريف المصطلحات بل واختراعها
اللغة الصامتة هنا هي الثقافة..تلك الممارسات التي نقوم بها جميعا دون أن نحددها بإسم او تعريف أو مصطلح وهنا ستعرف ان الثقافة ذات أساس بيولوجي كما يقول:"كل السلوك الثقافي قائم على أساس بيولوجي
:ثم يتطرق الى أنظمة التراسل الأولية العشرة التي هي البنية التحتية للثقافة
التفاعل
الاتحاد
موارد الاعاشة
ثنائية الجنس
الإقليمية
الزمنية
التعلم
اللعب
الدفاع
الإنتفاع
ويعرف كل واحد منها على حدة مع الأمثلة الرائعة من مختلف البلدان والشعوب واللغات
ومن الموضوعات المهمة في هذا الكتاب هي اختراعه للنظرية الثلاثية التي طورها مع صديقه تراجر،والتي تقول أنه هناك فعليا ثلاثة أنواع للوقت بدلا من نوعين
وقت رسمي
وقت غير رسمي
وقت تقني
وكذلك طورا فكرة ان للناس ثلاثة أنماط سلوكية كما هي للوقت وكذلك أعطى تعريفات وأمثلة وتفصيلات جميلة عن التعلم،الإدراك والوجدان بتعريفاتهم الثلاثة.ولن أتطرق لتعريفها فهذه مهمتك القادمة اذا نويت قراءة الكتاب
الكتاب من 11 فصلا
١-أصوات الزمن
٢-ماهي الثقافة
٣-مفردات الثقافة
٤-الثلاثي الرئيس
٥-الثقافة هي تواصل
٦-المجموعة المنتشرة
٧-الوحدة الصغرى المضللة
٨-النمط المنظم
٩-الزمن يتكلم:اللهجات الأميركية
١٠-المكان يتكلم
١١-التحرر من السيطرة
قراءة ممتعة للجميع..تحياتي
January 3, 2013
أول كتاب أنتهي منه في 2013
وأول كتاب أقرأه في هذا المجال! الكتاب طُبع من 30 سنة ويحتوي على معلومات عجيبة عن بعض الشعوب، ويشرح أدق تفاصيل السلوكيات التي يفعلها الأمريكيين ونفعلها يومياً دون أن ندرك تأثير ثقافتنا على سلوكياتنا البسيطة وهو ما يدعوه بـ (اللغة الصامتة)
كتاب دسم قليلاً وقد يكون مملاً في بعض الأجزاء وقد يكون صعب الفهم على بعض الأشخاص، ولكني وجدت فيه معلومات جديدة كلياً من خلال إلقائه الضوء على أشياء تافهة ولا أحد يهتم بالتفكير فيها
أضاف لي الكثير
June 28, 2012
ربما لا يجدر بي تقييم كتاب قبل أن أنهيه لكنني أشعر بالإكتفاء فلم أجد ما كنتُ أتوقعه حقيقة ، إلى جانب أن الكتاب بدأ يغرق في الأفكار المعقدة والتي تستلزم مني تركيزا ثلاثة أضعاف ما أنا عليه
غير إن السبب الآخر الذي يجعلني أتخلى عن فكرة إكماله هو عدم شعوري بأنني استفدت شيئا فالكتاب يشرح فكرة إختلاف الثقافات بين مختلف الأمم وإن هذه الإختلافات كثيرا ما تسبب سوء الفهم ويقدم المؤلف أمثلة كثيرة لعلها أمتع ما في الكتاب لكن كفكرة لم أشعر بأن هناك شيئا مهما يحتاج كل هذه الصفحات
عموما يتهيأ لي أن هذا الكتاب يصلح للمتخصصين والمهتمين بعلم النفس
April 19, 2013
الكتاب يشرح فكرة إختلاف الثقافات بين مختلف الأمم مع بعض معلومات عن عادات الشعوب
Read
January 21, 2014Let's start by saying that this is, in many ways, an embarrassingly dated work.
(lifts up unwieldy metal frame labeled HISTORICAL CONTEXT, tosses it out the window)
Edward T. Hall writes with a shocking paucity of empirical evidence, writes entirely in vague assertions and anecdotes, with riffs based on the now highly discredited ideas of functionalist social science, tries to defend the multiplicity of culture while still asserting himself from the position of the all-seeing eye of the American social scientist, makes no attempt to problematize wide-scale stereotypes, writes anthropology for an audience largely consisting of low-rent Don Drapers licking their chops at the opportunity to sell Nescafe in the Cambodian jungle (which they succeeded swimmingly at, btw), writes about cultures as brittle objects for removed from time as if they had no kind of social evolution, and with thick black lines between them, as if they are to be studied with the same patient, introspective gaze you use to look at a Frank Stella abstract.
WHEW!
(puts on nifty They Live-styled glasses, with HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE written on them in equally nifty futuristic font)
At the same time McLuhan was stabbing in the dark when trying to formulate a scientific approach to the scary new world of mass media, a young anthropologist was trying to write about a world in which highly disparate societies had to interact, without resorting to something along the lines of "look at how the savages' flail about in the mud," which unfortunately was how the whole business of anthropology started. He's a humane thinker with an honest desire to improve interhuman communication, and much of his advice is truly helpful for life in a globalized world, despite its glaring flaws. As social science, it doesn't have much to say, but as a set of conjectures, it's really not bad.
(pours self a martini, pats self on back)
MORAL OF THE STORY:
So if you're gonna read The Silent Language, and I think maybe you should, take a cue from Rowdy Roddy, and put on the glasses.
(lifts up unwieldy metal frame labeled HISTORICAL CONTEXT, tosses it out the window)
Edward T. Hall writes with a shocking paucity of empirical evidence, writes entirely in vague assertions and anecdotes, with riffs based on the now highly discredited ideas of functionalist social science, tries to defend the multiplicity of culture while still asserting himself from the position of the all-seeing eye of the American social scientist, makes no attempt to problematize wide-scale stereotypes, writes anthropology for an audience largely consisting of low-rent Don Drapers licking their chops at the opportunity to sell Nescafe in the Cambodian jungle (which they succeeded swimmingly at, btw), writes about cultures as brittle objects for removed from time as if they had no kind of social evolution, and with thick black lines between them, as if they are to be studied with the same patient, introspective gaze you use to look at a Frank Stella abstract.
WHEW!
(puts on nifty They Live-styled glasses, with HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE written on them in equally nifty futuristic font)
At the same time McLuhan was stabbing in the dark when trying to formulate a scientific approach to the scary new world of mass media, a young anthropologist was trying to write about a world in which highly disparate societies had to interact, without resorting to something along the lines of "look at how the savages' flail about in the mud," which unfortunately was how the whole business of anthropology started. He's a humane thinker with an honest desire to improve interhuman communication, and much of his advice is truly helpful for life in a globalized world, despite its glaring flaws. As social science, it doesn't have much to say, but as a set of conjectures, it's really not bad.
(pours self a martini, pats self on back)
MORAL OF THE STORY:
So if you're gonna read The Silent Language, and I think maybe you should, take a cue from Rowdy Roddy, and put on the glasses.
March 2, 2012
16 - good story of cross-cultural confusion
17- cultures have an appropriate "lead time" - how much advance notice you must give about something to plan ahead.
35 - there are no basic, elemental units for culture and therefore it is impossible to teach culture the way you teach language. Some of this is because culture is a deep, unconscious thing.
39 - "culture hides much more than it reveals, and strangely enough what it hides, it hides most effectively from its own participants. Years of study have convinced me that the real job is not to understand foreign culture, but to understand our own."
53 - learning how to learn is an assumed cultural value. In other words, a national might not grasp something because it has been taught in a way that doesn't fit the way he learned to learn as a child.
58 - Americans tend to compartmentalize religious, making it a thing that only affects part of your life, while other cultures regard many things as essentially religious.
69-72 - there are three kinds of learning OT cultural knowledge: formal (hours, days), informal (later, a little bit ago), and technical (picoseconds, millennia). Formal is learned as someone corrects you for making mistakes or breaking the rules. Informal happens as you involuntarily "pick things up." Technical comes from a teacher or textbook - cold, hard facts.
74 - the informal tends to be automatic and assumed, making it an area for cross-cultural problems.
17- cultures have an appropriate "lead time" - how much advance notice you must give about something to plan ahead.
35 - there are no basic, elemental units for culture and therefore it is impossible to teach culture the way you teach language. Some of this is because culture is a deep, unconscious thing.
39 - "culture hides much more than it reveals, and strangely enough what it hides, it hides most effectively from its own participants. Years of study have convinced me that the real job is not to understand foreign culture, but to understand our own."
53 - learning how to learn is an assumed cultural value. In other words, a national might not grasp something because it has been taught in a way that doesn't fit the way he learned to learn as a child.
58 - Americans tend to compartmentalize religious, making it a thing that only affects part of your life, while other cultures regard many things as essentially religious.
69-72 - there are three kinds of learning OT cultural knowledge: formal (hours, days), informal (later, a little bit ago), and technical (picoseconds, millennia). Formal is learned as someone corrects you for making mistakes or breaking the rules. Informal happens as you involuntarily "pick things up." Technical comes from a teacher or textbook - cold, hard facts.
74 - the informal tends to be automatic and assumed, making it an area for cross-cultural problems.
January 14, 2012
.من أجمل وأعظم الكتب التي قرأتها عن الثقافة وتحليل تطبيقاتها وتوصيفها
يحوي الكتاب بعض الصعوبة في اللغة ولكن متابعة القراءة وإعادة القراءة ستساهم كثير في
فهم مجمل ما يود المؤلف الحديث عنه ، إني اعتبر هذا الكتاب ضروري لكل مكتبة
وهذه قراءة اشمل للكتاب
http://akenh.blogspot.com/2011/04/blo...
يحوي الكتاب بعض الصعوبة في اللغة ولكن متابعة القراءة وإعادة القراءة ستساهم كثير في
فهم مجمل ما يود المؤلف الحديث عنه ، إني اعتبر هذا الكتاب ضروري لكل مكتبة
وهذه قراءة اشمل للكتاب
http://akenh.blogspot.com/2011/04/blo...
April 12, 2016
كتبت تقريرا طويلا ومفصلا عنه وبسبب طول التقرير قررت عدم نشره
ربما انانية مني (:
انصح به وبشدة
ربما انانية مني (:
انصح به وبشدة
January 3, 2025
The premise of The Silent Language is that much of human communication is nonverbal, and that differences in culture can affect communication and interactions.
A large part of the beginning of the book covers some specific ways that Westerners might be misunderstood in other cultures around the world. Some of it is mildly interesting, but in this modern and highly interconnected world, none of it is a surprise (though it may have been at the time of publishing).
While Hall's analysis of human communication may have been groundbreaking and influential at the time, most of his examples are anecdotal, and most of what he has presented is dated or commonly understood by modern people.
A large part of the beginning of the book covers some specific ways that Westerners might be misunderstood in other cultures around the world. Some of it is mildly interesting, but in this modern and highly interconnected world, none of it is a surprise (though it may have been at the time of publishing).
While Hall's analysis of human communication may have been groundbreaking and influential at the time, most of his examples are anecdotal, and most of what he has presented is dated or commonly understood by modern people.
November 18, 2021
يتحدث كتاب اللغة الصامة للكاتب إدوارد تي هول عن كيفية فهم سلوك الآخرين بمعزل عن الافعال والكلمات المباشرة , وهو كتاب يشرح بصورة مباشرة الاختلافات المفاهيمية بين المجتمعات المختلفة حول مواضيع متخلفة من مثل الزمن و المكان والعمل واللعب , ويحاول الكاتب ان يفك الغموض حيال العديد من التصرفات في المجتمعات البعيدة عن المجتمع الامريكي و يحاول ان يسقط تلك التصرفات على التراكمات الثقافية وذلك عبر سرد امثلة واقعية وعملية من مثل كيف استطاع المستعمر الغربي ان يشرح للساكن الاصلي في ارض الولايات المتحدة مفهوم الوقت و من مثل ماذا تعني المسافة عند التحدث و التأخر عن المواعيد و حدة اللفظ و مستوى الصوت و هلم جراً , العديد من الامور التي يقول الكاتب انها تمثل لغة صامتة تعبر عن تراكم كبير من الثقافات والخبرات البشرية و ايضا تحدث عن كيفية انسياب الافكار الثقافية نحو الاطفال و ركز على الطريقة التي يتعلم بها الاطفال عن الزمان والمكان , بصورة عامة الكتاب جيد جداُ في معظمه , وقد عابه ضعف في انسيابية الافكار , و تكرار لبعض الافكار , ولكنه في المجمل كتاب جيد ويستحق القراءة وخلاصته أن ان الثقافة ليست شيئا واحد , ولكن عدة اشياء , تقيمي للكتاب 3/5
مقتطفات من كتاب اللغة الصامة للكاتب إدوارد تي هول
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إن التدريب الرسمي في اللغة والتاريخ والحكم والعادات هو خطوة أولى فقط , والتعرف على اللغة غير الشغوية للدولة له الدرجة نفسها من الاهمية , معظم الناس بالكاد يدركون هذه اللغة الصامتة بالرغم من انهم يستخدمونها يوميا , انهم غير واعين لنمذجة السلوك الموسعة التي تحدد طريقة تدبر الزمن والعلاقات الماكانية والمواقف تجاه العمل واللهو والتعلم , بالاضافة للغتنا الشغوية فاننا نقل باستمرار مشاعرنا الحقيقية بلغة السلوك والتصرف
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ان ما يفعله الناس بشكل متكرر اهم بكثير مما يقولونه
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ان حقيقة الرسالة المنقولة مصوغة بمفردات غير رسمية تجعل الاشياء صعبة على نحو مضاعف , وذلك لانه لا يمكن لاي فريق ان يتبين بوضوح ما يحدث فعليا , يمكنهم ان يقولوا فقط ما يعتقدون انه يحدث وكيف يشعرون بشأن ذلك , ان التفكير بما يتم التواصل به هو ما يؤلم
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ان شعوب العالم الغربي يميلون الى التفكير بالوقت كشيء مثبت بالطبيعة , شيء موجود حولنا ولا يمكننا ان نهرب منه , انه جزء من البيئة دائم الحضور , تماما مثل الهواء الذي نتنفسه
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يجب ان لا نفصل الوقت ونحدد المواعيد فقط , ولكن يجب ان ننظر الى الامام و نكون موجهين نحو المستقبل بشكل كامل تقريبا , ونحب الاشياء الجديدة ونحن منشغلون بالتغيير
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يعامل الوقت بشكل اقرب الى التعامل مع المادة , فنحن نكسبه ونصرفه ونوفره ونهدره و بالنسبة لنا ان يكون لدينا امران يحدثان في الوقت نفسه هو امر غير اخلاقي الى حد ما
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ان نظرة الامريكي الى المستقبل مرتبطة بنظرته الى الماضي وذلك لان العادات والتقاليد تلعب دورا محدودا في الثقافة الامريكية بالدرجة نفسها التي يلعبها المستقبل , ونحن اجمالا , ندفعه جانبا او نتركه لبضعة من الاشخاص المهتمين بالماضي
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بالنسبة لعلماء الانسان الثقافة رمزت لمدة طويلة الى طريقة حياة الشعوب , والى مجموع نماذج سلوكهم المكتسب بالتعلم , والى مواقفهم والاشياء المادية , ومع ان معظم علماء الانسان يؤيدون هذا الرأي العام , فانهم يميلون الى الاختلاف بشأن ما هو جوهر الثقافة بالضبط
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تنشأ معظم مصاعبنا من جهلنا , ويستمر الناس الصادقون والمخلصون في الميدان بالفشل في استيعاب الاهمية الحقيقية لحقيقة ان الثقافة تتحكم بالسلوك بطرق متعمقة ومستمرة والعديد من هذه الطرق هي خارج الادراك وبالتالي بعيدة عن سيطرة وعي الفرد
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كل ما يمكن ان يحصل عليه الشخص من دراسة الثقافة الاجنبية هو فهم في نطاق محدود جداً
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ان احدى اكثر الطرق فعالية ليتعلم الشخص عن نفسه هي بأخذ ثقافات الاخرين محمل الجد , فهي تجبرك على ان تنتبه الى تلك التفاصيل في الحياة والتي تجعلك مختلفاً عنهم
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هناك استمرارية غير منقطعة بين الماضي البعيد والحاضر , وذلك لان الثقافة هي ذات اساس بيولوجي , متأصلة في نشاطات بيولوجية
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لدراسة اي ثقافة يجب الاطلاع على الاشكال العشرة من انظمة التواصل الاولية
( التفاعل ( التفاعل يعني الكلام والكتابة )
- الاتحاد ( المجموعات التي تعيش مع بعضها و التسلسل الهرمي )
- موارد الاعاشة ( ماذا يأكل , كيف يكسب الرزق )
- ثنائية الجنس ( الفوارق الجنسية ومميزات الجنسين في المجتمع , هل يجب اظهار العواطف ام لا ؟ الاشكال المفضلة والجميلة )
- الاقليمية ( امتلاك واستخدام اقليم والدفاع عنه , مناطق اللعب و العمل والتعلم )
- الزمنية ( مواعيد الطعام و سرعة الحركة و النشاط )
- التعلم ( كيفية التعلم في المجتمع وانظمة التعلم الخاصة )
- اللعب ( الفكاهة والنكات والتسلية واماكن واوقات اللعب و نوعه )
- الدفاع ( كيف يدافع عن الدين والقانون )
- الانتفاع ( الملابس والمنازل والاثاث و الادوات والاضافات المادية ) )
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كل شخص تقريباً عنده صعوبة في تصديق ان السلوك الذي كانوا يربطونه دائما مع الطبيعة البشرية ليس طبيعة بشرية نهائيا بل سلوكا مكتسب لتنوع معقد جداً
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ان المعتقدات الاساسية مثل مفاهيمنا للذكورية والانثوية تبدو انها تتنوع بشكل كبير جدا من ثقافة الى اخرى
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تستخدم الفكاهة غالباً للدفاع او لاخفاء سرعة التأثر
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الثقافة ليست شيئاً واحدا ولكن سلاسل معقدة من النشاطات ذات العلاقات المتبادلة بعدة طرق , نشاطات ذات اصول مدفونة عميقاً في الماضي حيث لم يوجد ثقافات ولا بشر
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ان معظم الاشياء التي يقوم بها البشر في العالم المكتسب هي اشياء ليس مجربة حتى , لانها انجزت بعيداً عن الادراك , وجزء كبير من النشاط البشري هو نتيجة مباشرة لتفكير الواعي او مغمور بالعواطف والمشاعر
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هناك فعليا ثلاثة انواع للوقت , وقت رسمي , والذي يعرفه كل شخص ويسلم به و يدخل في الحياة اليومية بشكل كبير ومتكرر , وقت غير رسمي , و الذي له علاقة باشارات غير دقيقة او حسب الحالة مثل لحظة و فيما بعد و خلال دقيقة , الوقت التقني , وهو نظام مختلف تماما استخدم من قبل العلماء والفنيين والذي قد تكون فيه حتى المصطلحات الفنية غير مألوفة بالنسبة لغير المتخصصين وكذلك للناس ايضا ثلاثة انماط سلوكية , وحياتهم محصورة في الاطار المرجعي الرسمي والغير رسمي والتقني
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يتم تعليم النشاطات الرسمية في اي مجتمع بالنصح والتحذير وهو منغمر بالعاطفة
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ان التعلم غير الرسمي له صفة مختلفة تماما عن التعلم التقني او التعلم الرسمي , فالوسيلة الرئيسية هي نموذج يستخدم التقليد , ويتم تعلم مجموعات كاملة من النشاطات ذات العلاقة في الوقت نفسه , وفي كثير من الحالات بدون معرفة انه يتم تعلمها نهائيا او ان هناك اساليب او قواعد تحكمها
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التعلم التقني بشكله المجرد هو شيء قريب من شارع باتجاه واحد , وهو ينقل عادة بشروط واضحة من المعلم الى الطالب , اما شفويا او كتابة , وغالبا ما يكون مسبوقا بتحليل منطقي و يستمر بشكل مترابط
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من المشكوك فيه ان يقوم اي شخص بتغيير الثقافة حقا بالمعنى الذي يستخدم فيه هذا التعبير بطريقة عادية , ما يحدث ان تكيفات رسمية صغيرة يتم احداثها باستمرار في مسار الحياة اليومية , بعضها يعمل بشكل افضل من الاخر , هذه التكيفات تصبح في النهاية تقنية كالتحسينات , وتتراكم التحسينات بشكل غير مدرك الى ان ينادي بها ك اختراقات ( تقدمات مفاجئة ) , ان التحسينات الصغيرة والثابتة في تصميم الطائرة تضخمت الى الات لم يكن احد يحلم بها قبل عشرين سنة مضت
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اذا اراد شخص ان يدخل تغييرا ثقافيا , فيجب عليه ان يكتشف ما الذي يحدث على المستوى غير الرسمي وان يحدد اي تكيفات غير رسمية تبدو كأنها الاكثر نجاحا في التطبيقات اليومية , احضر تلك التكيفات الى مستوى الادراك , حتى هذ هالعملية يمكن فقط ان تسرع التغيير , وليس التحكم به حقاً بالطريقة التي يرغب بها القائمون بالعمل , هذا لا ن طبيعة خارج الادراك للنظام غير الرسمي هي المكان الذي تبدأ فيه كل التغييرات , فالحياة هي نتيجة للتفاعل الديناميكي للمادة الحية مع نفسها وليست نتيجة الصدفة او التخطيط
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ان الطريقة التي ينهي بها المرء تعبيراً ما يمكن ان تجعله اما تصريحاً او سؤالا , بالاعتماد على ما اذا كانت طبقة الصوت ترتفع او تنخفض
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الناس مقيدون طالما بقوا جاهلين لطبيعة الطريق المخفية التي تزودهم بها الثقافة
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ان تفسيرنا الطبيعي هو انه امر غير حضاري ان يقوم الشخص بقتل اخته فقط لانها كانت على علاقة جنسية غير شرعية مع رجل , ان ما لا نعرفه غالبا ونجد صعوبة في قبوله هو ان مثل هذه الانماط تتلائم مع انماط اجمالية اكبر وان ما تتم حمايته ليست حياة الاخت ولكن مؤسسة اجتماعية مركزية والتي بدونها كان المجتمع سيفنى او يتغير جذرياً , هذه المؤسسة الاجتماعية ه الاسرة , والاسرة في الشرق الاوسط مهمة لان الاسر مترابطة مع بعضها البعض في منشأة وظيفية متماسكة , فالشبكة والالتزامات المرافقة توفر العديد من الوظائف نفسها التي توفرها حكومتنا , والاخت هي رابطة مقدسة بين العائلات , ومثل القاضي في الولايات المتحدة الامريكية فهي يجب ان تبقى بعيدة عن العار
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اذا لم تعط القليل في المساومة , فان الشخص الآخر سيتراجع , اذا تقدم خطوتين , يجب عليك ان تتقدم خطوتين , فاذا لم تتقدم خطوتين فانه سوف يتراجع اربع خطوات
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ان الفنانين لا يوجهون الثقافة ويبتكرون انماطاً , انهم يحملون مرآة للمجتمع ليرى اشياء قد لا يمكنه رؤيتها بدونها
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ان التنوع هو عامل مؤثر في الملل , في حين ان درجة الملل الذي يعاني منه الشخص تعتمد على السرعة التي يمر بها الوقت
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بالتنوع يتحرك الوقت بشكل اسرع
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نوعية التأخر المقبول لموعد ما تعتمد على : نوع المناسبة الاجتماعية وما سيقدم فيها , مركز الفرد الذي تتم مقابلته او زيارته , طريقة الفرد الخاصة في التعامل مع الوقت
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ان الروابط والمشاعر المنطلقة من احد افراد ثقافة ما دائما تقريبا ما تعني شيئاً آخر في ثقافة اخرى
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ان العالم لا يتخلى عن اسراره بسهولة والثقافة ليست استثناء
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ان معظم الصعوبات التي يواجهها الناس في التعامل مع بعضهم البعض يمكن عزوه الى التحريفات في الاتصال , ان النية الحسنة التي يعتمد عليها كثيراً لحل المشاكل , تبدد غالبا بشكل غير ضروري بسبب الفشل في فهم ما يتم التواصل بشأنه
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الثقافة هي سجن , الا اذا كان المرء يعرف انه يوجد مفتاح لفتح قفله
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في حين انه امر صحيح ان الثقافة تقيد البشر بعدة طرق غير معروفة , فان التقييد الذي تمارسه هو روتين السلوك ولا شيء آخر
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البشر لا يطورون الثقافة كوسيلة لخنق انفسهم و كلن كوسيلة ليتنقلوا ويعيشوا ويتنفسوا بها ويطوروا بها تفردهم و من اجل استغلالها يحتاجون لان يعرفوا الكثير جدا عنها
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يجب ان نمتع في نهاية المطاف قبولنا الاعمى لتعاليم علماء النفس والمثقفين الذين بحماسهم لتصحيح اخطاء سالفة في النظام يصرون على ان نفسد اولادنا بعدم وضع اي حدود وبالافراط في التساهل , يجب ان ندرك ان الاطفال يجب ان يتعلموا الحدود تماما كما يجب ان يتعلموا انه توجد اشياء معينة يمكنهم دائما الاعتماد عليها
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ان فهما حقيقيا لما هي الثقافة يجب ان يضرم من جديد اهتمامنا في الحياة , وهو اهتمام يتناقص غالبا بشدة , انه سيساعد الناس في اكتشاف اين هم ومن هم , وسيمنعهم من ان يتم التآمر عليهم من قبل ابناء جنسهم الاكثر شرها ونهبا وانتهازية الذين يستغلون حقيقة ان العامة ليسوا عادة مدركين لتلك المعايير الرسمية المشتركة التي تعطي تماسكا وترابطا لمجتمعنا
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انني اشعر بقوة انه بالنسبة للرجل العادي وللعالم فانه يجب علينا ان ندرك ونفهم العملية الثقافية , اننا لا نحتاج الى المزيد من الصواريخ والقنابل الهيدروجينية بالدرجة التي نحتاج فيها الى المزيد من المعرفة الدقيقة عن انفسنا كمشاركين في الثقافة
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ان الثقافة ليست شيئا واحد , ولكن عدة اشياء
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مقتطفات من كتاب اللغة الصامة للكاتب إدوارد تي هول
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إن التدريب الرسمي في اللغة والتاريخ والحكم والعادات هو خطوة أولى فقط , والتعرف على اللغة غير الشغوية للدولة له الدرجة نفسها من الاهمية , معظم الناس بالكاد يدركون هذه اللغة الصامتة بالرغم من انهم يستخدمونها يوميا , انهم غير واعين لنمذجة السلوك الموسعة التي تحدد طريقة تدبر الزمن والعلاقات الماكانية والمواقف تجاه العمل واللهو والتعلم , بالاضافة للغتنا الشغوية فاننا نقل باستمرار مشاعرنا الحقيقية بلغة السلوك والتصرف
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ان ما يفعله الناس بشكل متكرر اهم بكثير مما يقولونه
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ان حقيقة الرسالة المنقولة مصوغة بمفردات غير رسمية تجعل الاشياء صعبة على نحو مضاعف , وذلك لانه لا يمكن لاي فريق ان يتبين بوضوح ما يحدث فعليا , يمكنهم ان يقولوا فقط ما يعتقدون انه يحدث وكيف يشعرون بشأن ذلك , ان التفكير بما يتم التواصل به هو ما يؤلم
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ان شعوب العالم الغربي يميلون الى التفكير بالوقت كشيء مثبت بالطبيعة , شيء موجود حولنا ولا يمكننا ان نهرب منه , انه جزء من البيئة دائم الحضور , تماما مثل الهواء الذي نتنفسه
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يجب ان لا نفصل الوقت ونحدد المواعيد فقط , ولكن يجب ان ننظر الى الامام و نكون موجهين نحو المستقبل بشكل كامل تقريبا , ونحب الاشياء الجديدة ونحن منشغلون بالتغيير
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يعامل الوقت بشكل اقرب الى التعامل مع المادة , فنحن نكسبه ونصرفه ونوفره ونهدره و بالنسبة لنا ان يكون لدينا امران يحدثان في الوقت نفسه هو امر غير اخلاقي الى حد ما
---------------
ان نظرة الامريكي الى المستقبل مرتبطة بنظرته الى الماضي وذلك لان العادات والتقاليد تلعب دورا محدودا في الثقافة الامريكية بالدرجة نفسها التي يلعبها المستقبل , ونحن اجمالا , ندفعه جانبا او نتركه لبضعة من الاشخاص المهتمين بالماضي
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بالنسبة لعلماء الانسان الثقافة رمزت لمدة طويلة الى طريقة حياة الشعوب , والى مجموع نماذج سلوكهم المكتسب بالتعلم , والى مواقفهم والاشياء المادية , ومع ان معظم علماء الانسان يؤيدون هذا الرأي العام , فانهم يميلون الى الاختلاف بشأن ما هو جوهر الثقافة بالضبط
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تنشأ معظم مصاعبنا من جهلنا , ويستمر الناس الصادقون والمخلصون في الميدان بالفشل في استيعاب الاهمية الحقيقية لحقيقة ان الثقافة تتحكم بالسلوك بطرق متعمقة ومستمرة والعديد من هذه الطرق هي خارج الادراك وبالتالي بعيدة عن سيطرة وعي الفرد
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كل ما يمكن ان يحصل عليه الشخص من دراسة الثقافة الاجنبية هو فهم في نطاق محدود جداً
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ان احدى اكثر الطرق فعالية ليتعلم الشخص عن نفسه هي بأخذ ثقافات الاخرين محمل الجد , فهي تجبرك على ان تنتبه الى تلك التفاصيل في الحياة والتي تجعلك مختلفاً عنهم
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هناك استمرارية غير منقطعة بين الماضي البعيد والحاضر , وذلك لان الثقافة هي ذات اساس بيولوجي , متأصلة في نشاطات بيولوجية
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لدراسة اي ثقافة يجب الاطلاع على الاشكال العشرة من انظمة التواصل الاولية
( التفاعل ( التفاعل يعني الكلام والكتابة )
- الاتحاد ( المجموعات التي تعيش مع بعضها و التسلسل الهرمي )
- موارد الاعاشة ( ماذا يأكل , كيف يكسب الرزق )
- ثنائية الجنس ( الفوارق الجنسية ومميزات الجنسين في المجتمع , هل يجب اظهار العواطف ام لا ؟ الاشكال المفضلة والجميلة )
- الاقليمية ( امتلاك واستخدام اقليم والدفاع عنه , مناطق اللعب و العمل والتعلم )
- الزمنية ( مواعيد الطعام و سرعة الحركة و النشاط )
- التعلم ( كيفية التعلم في المجتمع وانظمة التعلم الخاصة )
- اللعب ( الفكاهة والنكات والتسلية واماكن واوقات اللعب و نوعه )
- الدفاع ( كيف يدافع عن الدين والقانون )
- الانتفاع ( الملابس والمنازل والاثاث و الادوات والاضافات المادية ) )
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كل شخص تقريباً عنده صعوبة في تصديق ان السلوك الذي كانوا يربطونه دائما مع الطبيعة البشرية ليس طبيعة بشرية نهائيا بل سلوكا مكتسب لتنوع معقد جداً
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ان المعتقدات الاساسية مثل مفاهيمنا للذكورية والانثوية تبدو انها تتنوع بشكل كبير جدا من ثقافة الى اخرى
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تستخدم الفكاهة غالباً للدفاع او لاخفاء سرعة التأثر
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الثقافة ليست شيئاً واحدا ولكن سلاسل معقدة من النشاطات ذات العلاقات المتبادلة بعدة طرق , نشاطات ذات اصول مدفونة عميقاً في الماضي حيث لم يوجد ثقافات ولا بشر
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ان معظم الاشياء التي يقوم بها البشر في العالم المكتسب هي اشياء ليس مجربة حتى , لانها انجزت بعيداً عن الادراك , وجزء كبير من النشاط البشري هو نتيجة مباشرة لتفكير الواعي او مغمور بالعواطف والمشاعر
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هناك فعليا ثلاثة انواع للوقت , وقت رسمي , والذي يعرفه كل شخص ويسلم به و يدخل في الحياة اليومية بشكل كبير ومتكرر , وقت غير رسمي , و الذي له علاقة باشارات غير دقيقة او حسب الحالة مثل لحظة و فيما بعد و خلال دقيقة , الوقت التقني , وهو نظام مختلف تماما استخدم من قبل العلماء والفنيين والذي قد تكون فيه حتى المصطلحات الفنية غير مألوفة بالنسبة لغير المتخصصين وكذلك للناس ايضا ثلاثة انماط سلوكية , وحياتهم محصورة في الاطار المرجعي الرسمي والغير رسمي والتقني
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يتم تعليم النشاطات الرسمية في اي مجتمع بالنصح والتحذير وهو منغمر بالعاطفة
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ان التعلم غير الرسمي له صفة مختلفة تماما عن التعلم التقني او التعلم الرسمي , فالوسيلة الرئيسية هي نموذج يستخدم التقليد , ويتم تعلم مجموعات كاملة من النشاطات ذات العلاقة في الوقت نفسه , وفي كثير من الحالات بدون معرفة انه يتم تعلمها نهائيا او ان هناك اساليب او قواعد تحكمها
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التعلم التقني بشكله المجرد هو شيء قريب من شارع باتجاه واحد , وهو ينقل عادة بشروط واضحة من المعلم الى الطالب , اما شفويا او كتابة , وغالبا ما يكون مسبوقا بتحليل منطقي و يستمر بشكل مترابط
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من المشكوك فيه ان يقوم اي شخص بتغيير الثقافة حقا بالمعنى الذي يستخدم فيه هذا التعبير بطريقة عادية , ما يحدث ان تكيفات رسمية صغيرة يتم احداثها باستمرار في مسار الحياة اليومية , بعضها يعمل بشكل افضل من الاخر , هذه التكيفات تصبح في النهاية تقنية كالتحسينات , وتتراكم التحسينات بشكل غير مدرك الى ان ينادي بها ك اختراقات ( تقدمات مفاجئة ) , ان التحسينات الصغيرة والثابتة في تصميم الطائرة تضخمت الى الات لم يكن احد يحلم بها قبل عشرين سنة مضت
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اذا اراد شخص ان يدخل تغييرا ثقافيا , فيجب عليه ان يكتشف ما الذي يحدث على المستوى غير الرسمي وان يحدد اي تكيفات غير رسمية تبدو كأنها الاكثر نجاحا في التطبيقات اليومية , احضر تلك التكيفات الى مستوى الادراك , حتى هذ هالعملية يمكن فقط ان تسرع التغيير , وليس التحكم به حقاً بالطريقة التي يرغب بها القائمون بالعمل , هذا لا ن طبيعة خارج الادراك للنظام غير الرسمي هي المكان الذي تبدأ فيه كل التغييرات , فالحياة هي نتيجة للتفاعل الديناميكي للمادة الحية مع نفسها وليست نتيجة الصدفة او التخطيط
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ان الطريقة التي ينهي بها المرء تعبيراً ما يمكن ان تجعله اما تصريحاً او سؤالا , بالاعتماد على ما اذا كانت طبقة الصوت ترتفع او تنخفض
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الناس مقيدون طالما بقوا جاهلين لطبيعة الطريق المخفية التي تزودهم بها الثقافة
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ان تفسيرنا الطبيعي هو انه امر غير حضاري ان يقوم الشخص بقتل اخته فقط لانها كانت على علاقة جنسية غير شرعية مع رجل , ان ما لا نعرفه غالبا ونجد صعوبة في قبوله هو ان مثل هذه الانماط تتلائم مع انماط اجمالية اكبر وان ما تتم حمايته ليست حياة الاخت ولكن مؤسسة اجتماعية مركزية والتي بدونها كان المجتمع سيفنى او يتغير جذرياً , هذه المؤسسة الاجتماعية ه الاسرة , والاسرة في الشرق الاوسط مهمة لان الاسر مترابطة مع بعضها البعض في منشأة وظيفية متماسكة , فالشبكة والالتزامات المرافقة توفر العديد من الوظائف نفسها التي توفرها حكومتنا , والاخت هي رابطة مقدسة بين العائلات , ومثل القاضي في الولايات المتحدة الامريكية فهي يجب ان تبقى بعيدة عن العار
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اذا لم تعط القليل في المساومة , فان الشخص الآخر سيتراجع , اذا تقدم خطوتين , يجب عليك ان تتقدم خطوتين , فاذا لم تتقدم خطوتين فانه سوف يتراجع اربع خطوات
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ان الفنانين لا يوجهون الثقافة ويبتكرون انماطاً , انهم يحملون مرآة للمجتمع ليرى اشياء قد لا يمكنه رؤيتها بدونها
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ان التنوع هو عامل مؤثر في الملل , في حين ان درجة الملل الذي يعاني منه الشخص تعتمد على السرعة التي يمر بها الوقت
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بالتنوع يتحرك الوقت بشكل اسرع
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نوعية التأخر المقبول لموعد ما تعتمد على : نوع المناسبة الاجتماعية وما سيقدم فيها , مركز الفرد الذي تتم مقابلته او زيارته , طريقة الفرد الخاصة في التعامل مع الوقت
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ان الروابط والمشاعر المنطلقة من احد افراد ثقافة ما دائما تقريبا ما تعني شيئاً آخر في ثقافة اخرى
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ان العالم لا يتخلى عن اسراره بسهولة والثقافة ليست استثناء
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ان معظم الصعوبات التي يواجهها الناس في التعامل مع بعضهم البعض يمكن عزوه الى التحريفات في الاتصال , ان النية الحسنة التي يعتمد عليها كثيراً لحل المشاكل , تبدد غالبا بشكل غير ضروري بسبب الفشل في فهم ما يتم التواصل بشأنه
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الثقافة هي سجن , الا اذا كان المرء يعرف انه يوجد مفتاح لفتح قفله
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في حين انه امر صحيح ان الثقافة تقيد البشر بعدة طرق غير معروفة , فان التقييد الذي تمارسه هو روتين السلوك ولا شيء آخر
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البشر لا يطورون الثقافة كوسيلة لخنق انفسهم و كلن كوسيلة ليتنقلوا ويعيشوا ويتنفسوا بها ويطوروا بها تفردهم و من اجل استغلالها يحتاجون لان يعرفوا الكثير جدا عنها
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يجب ان نمتع في نهاية المطاف قبولنا الاعمى لتعاليم علماء النفس والمثقفين الذين بحماسهم لتصحيح اخطاء سالفة في النظام يصرون على ان نفسد اولادنا بعدم وضع اي حدود وبالافراط في التساهل , يجب ان ندرك ان الاطفال يجب ان يتعلموا الحدود تماما كما يجب ان يتعلموا انه توجد اشياء معينة يمكنهم دائما الاعتماد عليها
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ان فهما حقيقيا لما هي الثقافة يجب ان يضرم من جديد اهتمامنا في الحياة , وهو اهتمام يتناقص غالبا بشدة , انه سيساعد الناس في اكتشاف اين هم ومن هم , وسيمنعهم من ان يتم التآمر عليهم من قبل ابناء جنسهم الاكثر شرها ونهبا وانتهازية الذين يستغلون حقيقة ان العامة ليسوا عادة مدركين لتلك المعايير الرسمية المشتركة التي تعطي تماسكا وترابطا لمجتمعنا
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انني اشعر بقوة انه بالنسبة للرجل العادي وللعالم فانه يجب علينا ان ندرك ونفهم العملية الثقافية , اننا لا نحتاج الى المزيد من الصواريخ والقنابل الهيدروجينية بالدرجة التي نحتاج فيها الى المزيد من المعرفة الدقيقة عن انفسنا كمشاركين في الثقافة
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ان الثقافة ليست شيئا واحد , ولكن عدة اشياء
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December 13, 2024
Super book about language and culture. Especially goes into Arabic culture. Here are the best bits:
Though the United States has spent billions of dollars on foreign aid programs, it has captured neither the affection nor esteem of the rest of the world. In many countries today Americans are cordially disliked; in others merely tolerated. The reasons for this sad state of affairs are many and varied, and some of them are beyond the control of anything this country might do to try to correct them. But harsh as it may seem to the ordinary citizen, filled as he is with good intentions and natural generosity, much of the foreigners'® animosity has been generated by the way Americans behave.
It is not my thesis that Americans should be universally loved. But I take no consolation in the remark of a government official who stated that "we don't have to be liked just so long as we are respected." In most countries we are neither liked nor respected.
First, Americans pride themselves on being outspoken and forthright. These qualities are regarded as a liability by the Greeks. They are taken to indicate a lack of finesse which the Greeks deplore. The American directness immediately prejudiced the Greeks. Second, when the Americans arranged meetings with the Greeks they tried to limit the length of the meetings and to reach agreements on general principles first, delegating the drafting of details to subcommittees. The Greeks regarded this practice as a device to pull the wool over their eyes. The Greek practice is to work out details in front of all concerned and continue meetings for as long as is necessary.
In the Middle East, Americans usually have a difficult time with the Arabs. I remember an American agriculturalist who went to Egypt to teach modern agricultural methods to the Egyptian farmers. At one point in his work he asked his interpreter to ask a farmer how much he expected his field to yield that year. The farmer responded by becoming very excited and angry. In an obvious attempt to soften the reply the interpreter said, "He says he doesn't know." The American realized something had gone wrong, but he had no way of knowing what. Later I learned that the Arabs regard anyone who tries to look into the future as slightly insane. When the American asked him about his future yield, the Egyptian was highly insulted since he thought the American considered him crazy. To the Arab only God knows the future, and it is presumptuous even to talk about It
An old friend of mine of Spanish cultural heritage used to run his business according to the Latino system: this meant that up to 15 people were in his office at one time.
The Tiv, a primitive people who live in Nigeria. Like the Navajo, they point to the sun to indicate a general time of day, and they also observe the movement of the moon as it waxes and wanes.
What is different is the way they use and experience time. For the Tiv, time is like a capsule. There is a time for visiting, for cooking, or for working; and when one is in one of these times, one does not shift to another. The Tiv equivalent of the week lasts five to seven days.
It is not tied into periodic natural events, such as the phases of the moon. The day of the week is named after the things which are being sold in the nearest "market."
If this book has a message it is that we must learn to understand the "out-of-awareness" aspects of communication. We must never assume that we are fully aware of what we communicate to someone else. There exists in the world today tremendous distortions in meaning as men try to communicate with one another. The job of achieving understanding and insight into mental processes of others is much more difficult and the situation more serious than most of us care to admit.
What complicates matters, however, is that people reared in different cultures learn to learn differently. Some do so by memory and rote without reference to "logic" as we think of it, while some learn by demonstration but without the teacher requiring the student to do anything himself while "learning."
Among those who did not agree with the Freudian scheme was the late Washington psychiatrist, Harry Stack Sullivan. Sullivan regarded the unconscious as the dissociated facets of the personality that are out of the person's awareness. His formulations were of great value to the social scientist because they cleared the way for further research. Sullivan believed that man has an ideal self which he approves of though it is not realized in everyday life. His workaday, actual, operating self is a composite of behavior patterns which Sullivan called dynamisms.
Afif Tannous, a Lebanese-American sociologist, tells of a case of the Arab villagers who refused to let outsiders clean up a water hole contaminated with typhoid and install a pump. The reader may wonder what there was about having a nice clean water supply that violated the formal norms of Arab villagers. Strange as it seems to us, Arab villagers like the water they drink. It has a nice strong taste which it gets from the camels. Water with them is thought to be almost sacred. If the men of a given village are strong or brave or fertile or smart it is because of the water they drink. In some parts of the Arab world it is considered sissy to drink clean water.
During the Spanish conquest of the New World one of the reasons the Spaniards were able to take so much territory was that their formal systems were so radically different from the Indian system. The Spaniards fought to kill; the Aztecs fought to take prisoners. Like the Plains Indians to the north, the Aztecs were at a loss in dealing with an enemy who killed in battle.
In fact, it is so much a formal system that when the calendar was brought up to date in England in 1752 by gearing it to the Gregorian version, there were riots in the streets and people shouted, "Give us back our fourteen days."
There used to be a separate vocabulary for men and women. There were words that women were never supposed to hear. There were different postures and dress for the two sexes, and there were areas that were taboo to women-areas where they might not receive respectful treatment.
Clothes hid everything but the face. Close chaperonage and limited times and places where young women could be seen with a man were enforced. All this occurred within the memory of a great many people living today.
Well he doesn’t know is that there are several asking prices. Like the Eskimo who has many different words for snow, the Arab has many different asking prices each with a different meaning.
We say, "T'll see you in an hour." The Arab says, "What do you mean, 'in an hour? Is the hour like a room, that you can go in and out of it?" To him his own system makes sense: "T'll see you before one hour," or "T'll see you after one week." We go out in the rain. The Arab goes under the rain.
Not only are sets classified, but they are broken down into further categories. An analysis of the number of sets in a given category can sometimes tell you the relative importance of an item in the over-all culture. The first person to speak scientifically about this trait was Franz Boas in his discussion of such things as the Eskimo's use of several different "nouns" for the many states of snow. In our culture one can get some idea of the importance of women by examining the tremendous proliferation of synonyms for females, particularly the young ones-cupcake, doll, flame, skirt, tomato, queen, broad, bag, dish, twist, to mention only a few. Each indicates a different variety or a subtle distinction in the ranking scale.
All of which seems very strange to the Arab. He starts at one point and goes until he is finished or until something intervenes. Time is what occurs before or after a given point.
The thing to remember in contrasting the two systems is that Americans cannot shift the partitions of schedules without violating a norm; Arabs can.
It is not necessary to leave the country to encounter significantly different time patterns. There are differences between families and differences between men and women; occupational differences, status differences, and regional differences,
This was all suddenly brought into focus one time when I had the good fortune to be visited by a very distinguished and learned man who had been for many years a top-ranking diplomat representing a foreign country. After meeting him a number of times, I had become impressed with his extraordinary sensitivity to the small details of behavior that are so significant in the interaction process. Dr. X. was interested in some of the work several of us were doing at the time and asked permission to attend one of my lectures. He came to the front of the class at the end of the lecture to talk over a number of points made in the preceding hour. While talking he became quite involved in the implications of the lecture as well as what he was saying. We started out facing each other and as he talked I became dimly aware that he was standing a little too close and that I was beginning to back up. Fortunately I was able to suppress my first impulse and remain stationary because there was nothing to communicate aggression in his behavior except the conversational distance. His voice was eager, his manner in-tent, the set of his body communicated only interest and eagerness to talk. It also came to me in a flash that someone who had been so successful in the old school of diplomacy could not possibly let himself communicate something offensive to the other person except outside of his highly trained awareness. By experimenting I was able to observe that as I moved away slightly, there was an associated shift in the pattern of interaction. He had more trouble expressing himself. If I shifted to where I felt comfortable (about twenty-one inches), he looked somewhat puzzled and hurt, almost as though he were saying: "Why is he acting that way? Here I am doing everything I can to talk to him in a friendly manner and he suddenly withdraws. Have I done anything wrong? Said something that I shouldn't?" Having ascertained that distance had a direct effect on his conversation, I stood my ground, letting him set the distance.
The realization that formal culture can exert a stabilizing influence on our lives should not be mistaken for conservatism. In fact, an appreciation of the nature and purpose of formal culture should eventually prevent our blind acceptance of the teachings of psychologists and educators who, in their zeal to correct past faults in the system, insist that we spoil our children by not setting any limits and being overly permissive.
Probably the most difficult point to make and make clearly is that not only is culture imposed upon man but it is man in a greatly expanded sense. Culture is the link between human beings and the means they have of interacting with others. The meaningful richness of human life is the result of the millions of possible combinations involved in a complex culture.
Professor Daniel Lerner, a sociologist at M.I.T., discovered when he interviewed villagers in Turkey that the idea of achieving happiness did not mean anything to them. It had never entered their mind that happiness was one of the things you had a right to expect from life and might strive to achieve. This does not mean that these villagers never have happy moments. Quite to the contrary. It just means that their culture does not include this isolate.
If one considers the Comanche of the early western plains, by way of contrast to present day Americans, it is possible to get some idea of how increasingly complex life has become. A young Comanche boy knew that he had only two alternatives. He could grow up to be a warrior or a transvestite, the term used for a man who wears women's clothes and does women's work. Everyone had a clear idea of what it meant to be a warrior and the qualities that went with it. If for some reason or other a boy lacked the bravado and bravery necessary to be a good warrior and he was afraid he would fail, his alternative was to put on the dress of a woman and take up bead work. There were in Comanche life only two models for adults; warriors and women. Life in American culture is not that simple. There is not even a satisfactory inventory of the categories of males and females for American culture,
Though the United States has spent billions of dollars on foreign aid programs, it has captured neither the affection nor esteem of the rest of the world. In many countries today Americans are cordially disliked; in others merely tolerated. The reasons for this sad state of affairs are many and varied, and some of them are beyond the control of anything this country might do to try to correct them. But harsh as it may seem to the ordinary citizen, filled as he is with good intentions and natural generosity, much of the foreigners'® animosity has been generated by the way Americans behave.
It is not my thesis that Americans should be universally loved. But I take no consolation in the remark of a government official who stated that "we don't have to be liked just so long as we are respected." In most countries we are neither liked nor respected.
First, Americans pride themselves on being outspoken and forthright. These qualities are regarded as a liability by the Greeks. They are taken to indicate a lack of finesse which the Greeks deplore. The American directness immediately prejudiced the Greeks. Second, when the Americans arranged meetings with the Greeks they tried to limit the length of the meetings and to reach agreements on general principles first, delegating the drafting of details to subcommittees. The Greeks regarded this practice as a device to pull the wool over their eyes. The Greek practice is to work out details in front of all concerned and continue meetings for as long as is necessary.
In the Middle East, Americans usually have a difficult time with the Arabs. I remember an American agriculturalist who went to Egypt to teach modern agricultural methods to the Egyptian farmers. At one point in his work he asked his interpreter to ask a farmer how much he expected his field to yield that year. The farmer responded by becoming very excited and angry. In an obvious attempt to soften the reply the interpreter said, "He says he doesn't know." The American realized something had gone wrong, but he had no way of knowing what. Later I learned that the Arabs regard anyone who tries to look into the future as slightly insane. When the American asked him about his future yield, the Egyptian was highly insulted since he thought the American considered him crazy. To the Arab only God knows the future, and it is presumptuous even to talk about It
An old friend of mine of Spanish cultural heritage used to run his business according to the Latino system: this meant that up to 15 people were in his office at one time.
The Tiv, a primitive people who live in Nigeria. Like the Navajo, they point to the sun to indicate a general time of day, and they also observe the movement of the moon as it waxes and wanes.
What is different is the way they use and experience time. For the Tiv, time is like a capsule. There is a time for visiting, for cooking, or for working; and when one is in one of these times, one does not shift to another. The Tiv equivalent of the week lasts five to seven days.
It is not tied into periodic natural events, such as the phases of the moon. The day of the week is named after the things which are being sold in the nearest "market."
If this book has a message it is that we must learn to understand the "out-of-awareness" aspects of communication. We must never assume that we are fully aware of what we communicate to someone else. There exists in the world today tremendous distortions in meaning as men try to communicate with one another. The job of achieving understanding and insight into mental processes of others is much more difficult and the situation more serious than most of us care to admit.
What complicates matters, however, is that people reared in different cultures learn to learn differently. Some do so by memory and rote without reference to "logic" as we think of it, while some learn by demonstration but without the teacher requiring the student to do anything himself while "learning."
Among those who did not agree with the Freudian scheme was the late Washington psychiatrist, Harry Stack Sullivan. Sullivan regarded the unconscious as the dissociated facets of the personality that are out of the person's awareness. His formulations were of great value to the social scientist because they cleared the way for further research. Sullivan believed that man has an ideal self which he approves of though it is not realized in everyday life. His workaday, actual, operating self is a composite of behavior patterns which Sullivan called dynamisms.
Afif Tannous, a Lebanese-American sociologist, tells of a case of the Arab villagers who refused to let outsiders clean up a water hole contaminated with typhoid and install a pump. The reader may wonder what there was about having a nice clean water supply that violated the formal norms of Arab villagers. Strange as it seems to us, Arab villagers like the water they drink. It has a nice strong taste which it gets from the camels. Water with them is thought to be almost sacred. If the men of a given village are strong or brave or fertile or smart it is because of the water they drink. In some parts of the Arab world it is considered sissy to drink clean water.
During the Spanish conquest of the New World one of the reasons the Spaniards were able to take so much territory was that their formal systems were so radically different from the Indian system. The Spaniards fought to kill; the Aztecs fought to take prisoners. Like the Plains Indians to the north, the Aztecs were at a loss in dealing with an enemy who killed in battle.
In fact, it is so much a formal system that when the calendar was brought up to date in England in 1752 by gearing it to the Gregorian version, there were riots in the streets and people shouted, "Give us back our fourteen days."
There used to be a separate vocabulary for men and women. There were words that women were never supposed to hear. There were different postures and dress for the two sexes, and there were areas that were taboo to women-areas where they might not receive respectful treatment.
Clothes hid everything but the face. Close chaperonage and limited times and places where young women could be seen with a man were enforced. All this occurred within the memory of a great many people living today.
Well he doesn’t know is that there are several asking prices. Like the Eskimo who has many different words for snow, the Arab has many different asking prices each with a different meaning.
We say, "T'll see you in an hour." The Arab says, "What do you mean, 'in an hour? Is the hour like a room, that you can go in and out of it?" To him his own system makes sense: "T'll see you before one hour," or "T'll see you after one week." We go out in the rain. The Arab goes under the rain.
Not only are sets classified, but they are broken down into further categories. An analysis of the number of sets in a given category can sometimes tell you the relative importance of an item in the over-all culture. The first person to speak scientifically about this trait was Franz Boas in his discussion of such things as the Eskimo's use of several different "nouns" for the many states of snow. In our culture one can get some idea of the importance of women by examining the tremendous proliferation of synonyms for females, particularly the young ones-cupcake, doll, flame, skirt, tomato, queen, broad, bag, dish, twist, to mention only a few. Each indicates a different variety or a subtle distinction in the ranking scale.
All of which seems very strange to the Arab. He starts at one point and goes until he is finished or until something intervenes. Time is what occurs before or after a given point.
The thing to remember in contrasting the two systems is that Americans cannot shift the partitions of schedules without violating a norm; Arabs can.
It is not necessary to leave the country to encounter significantly different time patterns. There are differences between families and differences between men and women; occupational differences, status differences, and regional differences,
This was all suddenly brought into focus one time when I had the good fortune to be visited by a very distinguished and learned man who had been for many years a top-ranking diplomat representing a foreign country. After meeting him a number of times, I had become impressed with his extraordinary sensitivity to the small details of behavior that are so significant in the interaction process. Dr. X. was interested in some of the work several of us were doing at the time and asked permission to attend one of my lectures. He came to the front of the class at the end of the lecture to talk over a number of points made in the preceding hour. While talking he became quite involved in the implications of the lecture as well as what he was saying. We started out facing each other and as he talked I became dimly aware that he was standing a little too close and that I was beginning to back up. Fortunately I was able to suppress my first impulse and remain stationary because there was nothing to communicate aggression in his behavior except the conversational distance. His voice was eager, his manner in-tent, the set of his body communicated only interest and eagerness to talk. It also came to me in a flash that someone who had been so successful in the old school of diplomacy could not possibly let himself communicate something offensive to the other person except outside of his highly trained awareness. By experimenting I was able to observe that as I moved away slightly, there was an associated shift in the pattern of interaction. He had more trouble expressing himself. If I shifted to where I felt comfortable (about twenty-one inches), he looked somewhat puzzled and hurt, almost as though he were saying: "Why is he acting that way? Here I am doing everything I can to talk to him in a friendly manner and he suddenly withdraws. Have I done anything wrong? Said something that I shouldn't?" Having ascertained that distance had a direct effect on his conversation, I stood my ground, letting him set the distance.
The realization that formal culture can exert a stabilizing influence on our lives should not be mistaken for conservatism. In fact, an appreciation of the nature and purpose of formal culture should eventually prevent our blind acceptance of the teachings of psychologists and educators who, in their zeal to correct past faults in the system, insist that we spoil our children by not setting any limits and being overly permissive.
Probably the most difficult point to make and make clearly is that not only is culture imposed upon man but it is man in a greatly expanded sense. Culture is the link between human beings and the means they have of interacting with others. The meaningful richness of human life is the result of the millions of possible combinations involved in a complex culture.
Professor Daniel Lerner, a sociologist at M.I.T., discovered when he interviewed villagers in Turkey that the idea of achieving happiness did not mean anything to them. It had never entered their mind that happiness was one of the things you had a right to expect from life and might strive to achieve. This does not mean that these villagers never have happy moments. Quite to the contrary. It just means that their culture does not include this isolate.
If one considers the Comanche of the early western plains, by way of contrast to present day Americans, it is possible to get some idea of how increasingly complex life has become. A young Comanche boy knew that he had only two alternatives. He could grow up to be a warrior or a transvestite, the term used for a man who wears women's clothes and does women's work. Everyone had a clear idea of what it meant to be a warrior and the qualities that went with it. If for some reason or other a boy lacked the bravado and bravery necessary to be a good warrior and he was afraid he would fail, his alternative was to put on the dress of a woman and take up bead work. There were in Comanche life only two models for adults; warriors and women. Life in American culture is not that simple. There is not even a satisfactory inventory of the categories of males and females for American culture,
October 21, 2021
كتب هذا العمل إدوارد تي هول، و هو عالِم إنسان أمريكي قدم بحوثا عديدة في السلوك على ثقافات متعددة. قدم إدوار في هذا الكتاب دراسة عميقة عن الثقافة و تحديدا عن السلوكيات و المفاهيم و القوانين الاجتماعية المسلّم بها في ثقافة معينة و التي ليست بالضرورة موجودة و معترف بها في ثقافة أخرى. يقول إدوارد تي هول بأنه هنالك لغة غير منطوقة و غير معلن عنها بالكلمات أو بالأصوات ، لكنها تتماشى جنبا بجنب مع اللغة المنطوقة لكل ثقافة ما، و التي أطلق عليها إدوارد تي هول باللغة الصامتة.
”أولئك الأشخاص منا ذوو الإرث الأوروبي ، يعيشون في (عالم الكلمة) الذي نعتقد أنه حقيقي، و لكن مجرد أننا نتحدث لا يعني أن باقي ما نتواصل معه بسلوكنا ليس له القدر نفسه من الأهمية.“
يصرح تي هول بأنه ما إن نتعلم تلك اللغة الصامتة ، سنتجاوز بها معظم الاختلافات و سوء الفهم و ربما التعرض إلى الإهانة أو حتى الحروب �� النزاعات. فمثلا ، انعدام أو اختلاف مفهوم الزمن و تقسيم الأيام بين الثقافات ، و اختلاف أوقات الطعام في اليوم، أو تعامل الأفراد مع الألوان ، فهنالك ألوان محببة و هنالك أخرى تبعث على الشؤم. و غيرها كالمسافة المريحة بين شخصين يتحدثان، فالبعض يرى أن القرب من المتكلم يبعث على الراحة و الآخر يرى البعد بمسافة متر أو نصف المتر هي المسافة المريحة للحوار. هنالك أمثلة تحليلية كثيرة مشروحة في هذا الكتاب.
الكتاب ثري جدا، و استفدت منه الكثير. يعيبه أن الكتاب موجه بشكل أساسي للمواطن الأمريكي ، كتركيزه علي اللغة الإنجليزية و اللهجات و القوانين المتبعة خصوصا في المجتمع الأمريكي ولكنها تنطبق على جميع المجتمعات، و هذا ما صرح به إدوارد في مقدمته بأنه على كل ثقافة أن تجد تلك اللغة الصامتة الغامضة.
”أولئك الأشخاص منا ذوو الإرث الأوروبي ، يعيشون في (عالم الكلمة) الذي نعتقد أنه حقيقي، و لكن مجرد أننا نتحدث لا يعني أن باقي ما نتواصل معه بسلوكنا ليس له القدر نفسه من الأهمية.“
يصرح تي هول بأنه ما إن نتعلم تلك اللغة الصامتة ، سنتجاوز بها معظم الاختلافات و سوء الفهم و ربما التعرض إلى الإهانة أو حتى الحروب �� النزاعات. فمثلا ، انعدام أو اختلاف مفهوم الزمن و تقسيم الأيام بين الثقافات ، و اختلاف أوقات الطعام في اليوم، أو تعامل الأفراد مع الألوان ، فهنالك ألوان محببة و هنالك أخرى تبعث على الشؤم. و غيرها كالمسافة المريحة بين شخصين يتحدثان، فالبعض يرى أن القرب من المتكلم يبعث على الراحة و الآخر يرى البعد بمسافة متر أو نصف المتر هي المسافة المريحة للحوار. هنالك أمثلة تحليلية كثيرة مشروحة في هذا الكتاب.
الكتاب ثري جدا، و استفدت منه الكثير. يعيبه أن الكتاب موجه بشكل أساسي للمواطن الأمريكي ، كتركيزه علي اللغة الإنجليزية و اللهجات و القوانين المتبعة خصوصا في المجتمع الأمريكي ولكنها تنطبق على جميع المجتمعات، و هذا ما صرح به إدوارد في مقدمته بأنه على كل ثقافة أن تجد تلك اللغة الصامتة الغامضة.
October 31, 2015
كان عنوان الكتاب جذّاباً لي ولكن لم يكن واقعه حسب عنوانه وما توقّعته منه..
لا أدري أين الخلل!! هل في التّرجمة أم في الكتاب نفسه..
ولكن لا أنكر أنّ فكرته عظيمة والتي يمكن تلخيصها كيف أنّ عادات الشّعوب والأمور التي تحكم تعامل أهل كلّ بلد مع بعضهم تختلف في بعض الأحيان اختلافاً جذريّاً بين بلدة وأخرى..
وهذا ما قد يُسبّب الكثير من المشاكل وردود الأفعال السّيّئة لنتيجة لسوء فهم سببه اختلاف ما تعارف عليه أهل هذه البلدة وكيفية فهمهم لهذا التّصرّف..
وأوضح مثال كان يعرضه المؤلّف موضوع الوقت ودقّة الالتزام بالمواعيد..
فعند بعض الشّعوب تكون كارثة التّأخّر عن الموعد خمس دقائق.. بينما عند الآخرين يبقى المجال مفتوحاً لستّين دقيقة ربّما..
لذا نرى من الضّرورة بمكان التّعرّف على ثقافة شعب معيّن قبل الذّهاب إليهم والعمل عندهم..
وهذا نجده أيضاً على مستوى التّعامل الشّخصي..
وبذلك يمكنا تجنّب الكثير من المشاكل وسوء التّفاهم..
هذا ملخّص ما يدور عليه الكتاب الذي أزعجني وأتعبني وأشعرني بملل قاااتل
وفاء
تشرين أوّل 2015
لا أدري أين الخلل!! هل في التّرجمة أم في الكتاب نفسه..
ولكن لا أنكر أنّ فكرته عظيمة والتي يمكن تلخيصها كيف أنّ عادات الشّعوب والأمور التي تحكم تعامل أهل كلّ بلد مع بعضهم تختلف في بعض الأحيان اختلافاً جذريّاً بين بلدة وأخرى..
وهذا ما قد يُسبّب الكثير من المشاكل وردود الأفعال السّيّئة لنتيجة لسوء فهم سببه اختلاف ما تعارف عليه أهل هذه البلدة وكيفية فهمهم لهذا التّصرّف..
وأوضح مثال كان يعرضه المؤلّف موضوع الوقت ودقّة الالتزام بالمواعيد..
فعند بعض الشّعوب تكون كارثة التّأخّر عن الموعد خمس دقائق.. بينما عند الآخرين يبقى المجال مفتوحاً لستّين دقيقة ربّما..
لذا نرى من الضّرورة بمكان التّعرّف على ثقافة شعب معيّن قبل الذّهاب إليهم والعمل عندهم..
وهذا نجده أيضاً على مستوى التّعامل الشّخصي..
وبذلك يمكنا تجنّب الكثير من المشاكل وسوء التّفاهم..
هذا ملخّص ما يدور عليه الكتاب الذي أزعجني وأتعبني وأشعرني بملل قاااتل
وفاء
تشرين أوّل 2015
June 24, 2016
بعض فصول الكتاب مغرقة في التفاصيل و التحاليل العلمية الموجهة لأهل الأختصاص من علماء الإنسان .. لكن البقية مبسطة و هامة و تحتوي أمثلة واقعية تبين معنى " اللغة الصامة " و علاقتها بالثقافة و المعنى و الشعوب .. كتاب مميز في مجاله
September 15, 2013
- سأعود لاحقاً -
November 11, 2015
الترجمة جيدة و الموضوع مهم و مفيد , فهدا الكتاب هو دراسة للإنسان انطلاقا من تواصله الصامت ,أي حركاته و ثقافته و نظرته للأمور .
الفكرة الأساسية الثقافة كاتصال مقارنة و نتائج .
الفكرة الأساسية الثقافة كاتصال مقارنة و نتائج .
March 12, 2016
The best element of this book regards the conversation on how time is heavily based on culture.
February 17, 2022
I have had many false starts with this book. It reminds me of the Husserlian concept of epoché, or bracketing. Sometimes I've been blinded and dominated by verbal exchange and discourse, especially in the highly-textual world of the Internet. However, Hall reminds us that culture, prior to English, or anything verbal, subsumes this verbality and also contains "silent languages." These languages include a conception of space and time.
The Filipino has inherited its culture from both American and Spanish influences, for instance, and this is manifested even in my own personal ambivalence with respect to perceiving time as either displaced or diffused. Even this is an overgeneralization, as different regions within America itself also perceive time differently.
Displaced time is time that is viewed exactly. People with this viewpoint perceive lateness as an insult; in contrast, diffuse time is time that is viewed as if it were a continuum, and this differs from culture to culture. The Spanish have a term for this, which is mañana, or an indefinite perception of the future (inspiring procrastination). People who view time as diffuse take it lightly, and its passage isn't viewed as exactingly. This has caused many disagreements and altercations across different cultures because of people's temporal perspectives.
In cultures such as the Truks (now Chuuk), time does not heal. When someone killed someone, it might even be from the distant past, but this is not understood by outsiders. Everything is just present.
In addition, space is also a language that is seated in informal, non-verbal language. Introverts need a wide berth to thrive, and this is only understood for the most part by fellow introverts. Extroverts, on the other hand, thrive around people and might not view distance that separates people with as much respect. Hall provided these distances in the book. Basically, there are very few people in our lives whom we allow a closeness: the closer the person, the more intimate he or she is to you.
Hall provides a wonderful overview and coup d'oeil of the nonverbal aspects of communication and culture. It's a great introduction to appreciating the dynamics of people and their microcultures. It also provided me some insight toward the Filipino's fondness for personality politics.
The Filipino has inherited its culture from both American and Spanish influences, for instance, and this is manifested even in my own personal ambivalence with respect to perceiving time as either displaced or diffused. Even this is an overgeneralization, as different regions within America itself also perceive time differently.
Displaced time is time that is viewed exactly. People with this viewpoint perceive lateness as an insult; in contrast, diffuse time is time that is viewed as if it were a continuum, and this differs from culture to culture. The Spanish have a term for this, which is mañana, or an indefinite perception of the future (inspiring procrastination). People who view time as diffuse take it lightly, and its passage isn't viewed as exactingly. This has caused many disagreements and altercations across different cultures because of people's temporal perspectives.
In cultures such as the Truks (now Chuuk), time does not heal. When someone killed someone, it might even be from the distant past, but this is not understood by outsiders. Everything is just present.
In addition, space is also a language that is seated in informal, non-verbal language. Introverts need a wide berth to thrive, and this is only understood for the most part by fellow introverts. Extroverts, on the other hand, thrive around people and might not view distance that separates people with as much respect. Hall provided these distances in the book. Basically, there are very few people in our lives whom we allow a closeness: the closer the person, the more intimate he or she is to you.
Hall provides a wonderful overview and coup d'oeil of the nonverbal aspects of communication and culture. It's a great introduction to appreciating the dynamics of people and their microcultures. It also provided me some insight toward the Filipino's fondness for personality politics.
April 26, 2020
Hall's, Silent Language, reveals how one's culture produces unconscious behaviors that allow others to read messages that are being sent unknowingly: the "Silent Language." The 1959 book was meant for lay readers and for professionals in the fields of anthropology and linguistics. It got a bit dense for this lay reader, but I am glad to have read the book. In many cases, Hall offers examples of real world situations that clarify difficult passages in the text.
We may have heard of professional poker players who are able to read "tells" from the behavior or reactions of other players that provide an advantage to the pro. While Hall does not speak of poker players, his examples make the same point. His overall theme is that "culture is communication." Hence a careful observer, especially from another culture, can derive meaning from behavior he or she sees.
The first five chapters are clearly informative for most readers. It is when he develops the linguistic basis of his "culture is communication" theory over three chapters that the going gets tough. There he talks of informal, formal, and technical levels of tradition, with language sets, isolates, and patterns. It grows increasingly granular. Fortunately chapters nine and ten deal, respectively, with the cultural behavior aspects of time and space. Even more fortunately, Hall has written separate books on these two subjects, The Dance of Life: The Other Dimension of Time (1982), and The Hidden Dimension (1966). I have read both and would recommend them for general readers who would like to explore these two aspects a length.
Hall closes Silent Language with several technical appendices. These will probably not have great
appeal to general readers, but they are brief. Overall, the writing is comprehensible, with flashes of humor and, as mentioned above, interesting real life examples of the Silent Language being spoken.
We may have heard of professional poker players who are able to read "tells" from the behavior or reactions of other players that provide an advantage to the pro. While Hall does not speak of poker players, his examples make the same point. His overall theme is that "culture is communication." Hence a careful observer, especially from another culture, can derive meaning from behavior he or she sees.
The first five chapters are clearly informative for most readers. It is when he develops the linguistic basis of his "culture is communication" theory over three chapters that the going gets tough. There he talks of informal, formal, and technical levels of tradition, with language sets, isolates, and patterns. It grows increasingly granular. Fortunately chapters nine and ten deal, respectively, with the cultural behavior aspects of time and space. Even more fortunately, Hall has written separate books on these two subjects, The Dance of Life: The Other Dimension of Time (1982), and The Hidden Dimension (1966). I have read both and would recommend them for general readers who would like to explore these two aspects a length.
Hall closes Silent Language with several technical appendices. These will probably not have great
appeal to general readers, but they are brief. Overall, the writing is comprehensible, with flashes of humor and, as mentioned above, interesting real life examples of the Silent Language being spoken.
December 14, 2025
I read a series of Dr. Hall's books long ago and remember absolutely loving them. This is the first in a reread of some of them. Dr. Hall is an excellent anthropologist with deep insight into culture and our psychology. He explains things well and has many specific examples liberally sprinkled throughout. When I was traveling abroad more frequently, his insights were quite helpful to me.
Being an academic myself, I appreciate Dr. Hall's efforts to systematize the study of a very challenging subject. Our culture is the same as water is to a fish - incredibly important yet almost invisible to us. Human psychology has so many variables that cannot be experimentally controlled, that I appreciate anyone trying to draw out basic principles, which Dr. Hall does.
"The Silent Language" refers to the fact that culture is communication between people, yet much of the transmission is implicit. We have certain built-in expectations about how the world and other people operate, and we are able to navigate our daily lives as long as everything operates within the expected norms. Yet different people in different places have different norms, so communication with them is often difficult, and we don't even know why.
Being an academic myself, I appreciate Dr. Hall's efforts to systematize the study of a very challenging subject. Our culture is the same as water is to a fish - incredibly important yet almost invisible to us. Human psychology has so many variables that cannot be experimentally controlled, that I appreciate anyone trying to draw out basic principles, which Dr. Hall does.
"The Silent Language" refers to the fact that culture is communication between people, yet much of the transmission is implicit. We have certain built-in expectations about how the world and other people operate, and we are able to navigate our daily lives as long as everything operates within the expected norms. Yet different people in different places have different norms, so communication with them is often difficult, and we don't even know why.
February 14, 2025
An interesting (albeit outdated in many regards) read in cultures. The author is very analytical and direct in his comments, starting the book with “Though the United States has spent billions of dollars on foreign aid programs, it has captured neither the affection nor esteem of the rest of the world. In many countries today Americans are cordially disliked; in others merely tolerated. …much of the foreigners' animosity has been generated by the way Americans behave.” This definitely has not changed since the 70’s.
I was surprised that the author even pointed out niche topics such has “Mormon Standard Time” (not actually called this in the book, but any Utah resident knows the term). However, I have to take off points for the focus on government and control as well as the really narrow-minded expressions when discussing race.
I was surprised that the author even pointed out niche topics such has “Mormon Standard Time” (not actually called this in the book, but any Utah resident knows the term). However, I have to take off points for the focus on government and control as well as the really narrow-minded expressions when discussing race.
June 7, 2020
Au-delà de l'irritation que génère la vision des USA en tant que référence et de centre de monde, ce livre est très intéressant pour expliquer les différents vecteurs de culture.
Ayant vécu dans plusieurs villes, avec a chaque fois des differences "silencieuses" de langage, cet essai m'a permi de les reconnaître et d'en faire une première analyse.
J'imagine que la théorie dans le sujet a évolué depuis, mais le langage accessible (au moins en traduction française) et les explications ludiques rendent ce livre important si on souhaite comprendre comment les cultures se distinguent entre elles.
Ayant vécu dans plusieurs villes, avec a chaque fois des differences "silencieuses" de langage, cet essai m'a permi de les reconnaître et d'en faire une première analyse.
J'imagine que la théorie dans le sujet a évolué depuis, mais le langage accessible (au moins en traduction française) et les explications ludiques rendent ce livre important si on souhaite comprendre comment les cultures se distinguent entre elles.
December 27, 2020
Would have enjoyed it more from an academic mindset. A mixture of linguistic terminology and personal antidotes. Below are a few quotes:
"We don't need more missiles and h-bombs nearly so much as we need more specific knowledge of ourselves as participants in culture."
" Good will, which is so often relied upon to solve problems, is often needlessly dissipated because of the failure to understand what is being communicated."
"Experience is something man projects upon the outside world as he gains it in its culturally determined form."
"We don't need more missiles and h-bombs nearly so much as we need more specific knowledge of ourselves as participants in culture."
" Good will, which is so often relied upon to solve problems, is often needlessly dissipated because of the failure to understand what is being communicated."
"Experience is something man projects upon the outside world as he gains it in its culturally determined form."
September 17, 2024
As many other reviews have stated, the information in this book is largely anecdotal and doesn't have a solid backing, but that's largely due to the nature of the content as well as it being a bit dated, so it's understandable. My main qualm is that there wasn't much in here that I feel will stick with me, not much that changed the way I think. It gets good points for being formative and inspiring more work in the field, and it is short enough to be a worthwhile read.
December 27, 2020
It is an interesting book and a basis for research in the field of intercultural communication. When reading such a book we should not lose sight of the context in which it was written. Today we have more access to information and easily interact with other cultures thanks to technology and globalization. Those who find it irrelevant just don't get it, but everyone is entitled to their opinion.
December 23, 2025
Some of the theory is interesting, but his methodology is purely his analogies, which obviously is quite poor, and a majority of which I feel are susceptible to teleology. Sometimes this read like an American realizing they are not the epicentre of civilization and culture.
February 12, 2018
كتاب جيد بالنسبة لمن يريدون قراءة مدخل لل Humanities .. لم أستمتع به كثيرا نظرا لأنني قرأت "البعد الخفي" أولا، فأحسست وكأنما هول يعيد نفسه بصياغات لغوية جديدة.
July 24, 2018
Very good
July 30, 2018
A very concise, to-the-point read. My only issue with it was the fallacy of generalization, otherwise the author did well to scrutinize cultural aspects that we tend to ignore.
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